Early look at NBA Draft possibilities - Terry Pluto

18 Mai 2018

There's a chance, too, that Atlanta could pass on Duke's Marvin Bagley at No. 3, leaving him for Memphis.

Why him: "Ayton has elite physical traits, a developing inside-out skill set, and a superstar ceiling if all goes according to plan, and he'll immediately be one of the most athletic centers in the league". The only question is whether they go for frontcourt help or backcourt help with the pick. Yet, Ayton isn't without his own ties, having played his college ball in Arizona.

"CSKA are a great team with so many good players and we will need to produce a ideal game to beat them", said Doncic, who has Serbian roots and was hoping for a warm welcome despite putting Serbia to the sword in the European Championship final.

These are good days for the Suns, who have gone through three terrible seasons and eight consecutive playoff-less campaigns.

For the first time in history, the Phoenix Suns possess the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, and there are several players they can select who would change their franchise for the better.

"But as of today we haven't even decided on what position we're even going after". Any progression is good progression, in my opinion.

Selecting a big man this early in the draft can alter a franchise's direction.

During his lone season at Arizona, he averaged 20.1 points and 11.6 rebounds per game while shooting 61.6 per cent from the field, and was "Karl Malone Power Forward" of the year and Associated Press First Team All-American. "The odds coming in were that we would go from five to six".

The Suns have been in the NBA Draft Lottery the past eight years, as the team hasn't made the playoffs since the 2009-10 season. Placing Ayton with Booker could give the Phoenix Suns a Shaquille O'Neal-Kobe Bryant or Shaq-Penny Hardaway type of duo, which would be primed for future success. While odds say that there will eventually be a regression to the mean, betting on the Nuggets moving up is a sketchy proposition.

I haven't been this excited about a foreign prospect since Kristaps Porzingis, and I think that he will have a long and successful National Basketball Association career full of runs to the basket like this one.

"If you have someone you like in the first few picks, they're the first call you'd make", one general manager told Sporting News. If Detroit keeps its pick this year, it remains top-four protected until 2021, when it switches to unprotected.

Whatever the case, the Cavs now at least have a clearer picture of the card they hold. Ever since, they've been treading water with a roster full of young players, draft busts and Tyson Chandler (plus Greg Monroe for a bit).

"We have a small target grouping in mind, but we're not going to rule anything out at this point", McDonough said.

Weltman said: "The process has been, I think, deliberate and thorough, and we're very pleased with some of the guys that we've interviewed, and we continue to move forward".